There are many commercial applications wherein it is desired to adhere various seasoning materials such as sugar, salt, cheese powder, spices, colorants or the like to the external surfaces of cereal flakes, biscuits or a snack food such as potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, nut products, etc.
In view of the nature of the seasonings to be applied, it is desirable that any material used to adhere the seasoning contribute little or no flavor of its own. Moreover, the material must not only be readily applicable but must be capable of providing strong adherence, even after the foodstuffs to which they are applied have been subjected to subsequent packaging operations, transport and storage.
Further, it is often desired that any material added to foodstuffs be free of any chemical treatments so that the foods may be so labelled.
Fats and oils have traditionally been used for adhering seasonings and flavorings to these products. However, as a result of recent market demand for low-fat and fat-free cereal and snack products, not only are these materials in disfavor as adhesives or binders; there is an additional problem encountered in the need for the adhesive or binder to adhere the flavorant to a food product that already contains a reduced amount of fat and/or oil.